FBI: Soldier teamed with his father to sell stolen equipment to drug gangs

Aug. 15, 2014 - 11:33AM
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A soldier and his father allegedly teamed up to sell military-grade equipment to a Mexican drug gang but ended up on the wrong end of a sting operation, the FBI said in a Thursday news release.

A Florida grand jury on Wednesday indicted Luis Rafael Infantes, 21, and his father, Pedro Luis Infantes, 47, on three counts related to the alleged theft, the release states.

The FBI identified the younger Infantes as a Fort Knox, Kentucky, supply sergeant. An Army Human Resources Command spokesman said Infantes is a private first class assigned to 19th Engineer Battalion at Knox — an assignment he began July 28, personnel records show.

The pair allegedly tried to sell 17 thermal-imaging monoculars, rifle-cleaning kits and other stolen military equipment for $153,500 through an intermediary “affiliated with Mexican drug trafficking organizations,” the release states. Their connection, whom the FBI says met with Pedro Infantes, was actually a law enforcement informant.

The younger Infantes told military investigators that he’d stolen the items and given them to his father to sell, the release states. If convicted, he could face 20 years in prison.

His father, who is also charged with lying to FBI agents about how he procured the items, faces up to 25 years.